Fog could linger until midday in parts of Melbourne
Updated ,first published
A thick layer of fog blanketed Melbourne on Thursday morning, prompting warnings for motorists and creating eerie scenes across the city.
Bureau meteorologist Daniel Sherwin-Simpson said parts of regional Victoria experienced such thick fog last week that it was Melbourne’s turn before it began to clear at around 10am on Thursday.
“The weather is starting to clear, but there is still fog in Greensborough and Eltham (in the northeast of the CBD) and some patchy fog in the south-west,” he said.
Sherwin-Simpson said the fog hung over the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas and some coastal parts of the south-east, but was dissipating around Melbourne Airport.
He said the fog will now lift in inner southwestern areas such as Laverton, Altona and Williamstown.
“What we see today is what we call radiation fog. As we move into the night, the atmosphere cools and radiates heat into space and the air cools.
“So while the humidity in the atmosphere does not change, the temperature drops and we see the humidity approaching 100 percent. That’s when fog starts to form,” he said.
Although the morning was cold, the temperature record was not broken in Melbourne. Mount Hotham dropped to -3.6 degrees, while in the west Ballarat reached -1.2 and Westmere reached -2.5.
The bureau is also warning drivers in Melbourne that fog will make driving more dangerous.
“Slow down and drive carefully,” the bureau said in an alert Thursday morning. “Leave more space between you and the vehicle in front. It takes longer to stop on wet, slippery roads.”
On Monday, Melbourne experienced its coldest day of the year, with temperatures dropping to 3.2 degrees. During the same 24-hour period, Mount Hotham experienced its hottest July day ever.
The bureau attributed this to a “temperature reversal” in the atmosphere.
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